Practice this!

This is one of the little tricks I will be practicing this week....

Hooping Inspiration

Even in her living room, Megan rocks the house!!

Another Sampling

Presenting more pictures from the second gathering of the Mad Hoopers of York! Hope you like them...I am presently downloading a couple clips and more pics from that awesome day to make another movie. That should be coming up Monday.
We just returned from the NSS Convention. I left some hoops around and watched what happened. A couple of folks stepped up to the challenge. These shocking images of wild cavers hooping it up will be up Monday, as well. Meanwhile, enjoy this little gallery of hoopers having fun!I hope that all you folks who moseyed over for some hooping fun will get a look at these pictures. I will be planning on another gathering in a few weeks, work permitting, so check back often to keep updated.

Away for a few days...

I am in Indiana, spreading the word of the hoop...actually I am at the NSS Convention(http://www.nss2007.com/) but I have gotten several people to hoop. A guy from the campsite across the way, Vern "The Vernerator," has picked it up really well. I'll be having clips and pictures galore to post when I get home, in addition to getting up more pictures from the last gathering.....check back Monday or so.
Tomorrow night is a bonfire, and the PERFECT environment for wild hooping. Caver are adventurous people to begin with, so this could get interesting....

Happy Hooping!!

Gathering pics

Here's just a few of the photos from Sunday's gathering...more to come!!

Second Gathering of Mad Hoopers of York

The second gathering at John Rudy Park, while starting out a bit slow, ended up a roaring success. I'll be posting some video clips and photos soon. I was a little under the weather today, but like a trooper, I hawked the art of hooping from 3:30 until 7:00. All it took was some tissues and a couple of Vicks cough drops. The weather, on the other hand, stood up beautifully, and I saw nary a drop of rain until I pulled into my driveway at home at 7:20.
Keep your eyes peeled for other gatherings in the coming weeks!

Hooping at Parties: More Night Hooping

Went to a party this weekend, and of course, brought my hoops. Many of the brave and adventurous picked up hoops; there were some intrepid photographers there to document the fun, so I hope to get emailed some pics from that night(My camera's battery died....sob). I'll post them as soon as they arrive...hint hint.

Gathering Update

This Sunday is fast approaching and the second gathering of Mad Hoopers of York will soon be upon us!! I can't wait to see you all out at John Rudy Park at 3:30 pm on what will surely be a glorious day, filled with hooping, new tricks and new friends! Okay, so possible thunderstorms--the key word being possible, not definite. I am still planning to be there! Bring your hoops, or borrow mine; I will even be selling them, if you try one you love.

Hope to see you there! Happy hooping!
Here's some inspiration! ANYONE CAN DO IT, and this guy ROCKS my world!!!

My New Hooping Hero

May we all aspire to hoop as if we grew up in the circus....

Hooping Happiness

I have a million reasons to hoop, and find myself trying to tell people about what IT is, often to be met with an uncomprehending stare. While all it really takes is for the individual to pick up a hoop for a few minutes, some folks need more visual proof, prior to trying it out. I found this site while searching for all things hoop. The intro. essay really epitomizes the benefits of hooping: the art of hoop dancing, meditative aspects, the fitness, the sheer joy! While this particular revolution is taking place in LA, soon, we'll have our very own hoop renaissance in York! Truth be told, I am actually looking forward to the dress-up aspect of hooping. I have always loved to dress up -I mean, who doesn't?!! ; } - so this will be an opportunity for a costume extravaganza! Wheeeee! Hope to see you this Sunday, at John Rudy park. See below for directions.

ATTENTION: GATHERING ALERT!!!

I am organizing another hooping gathering at John Rudy Park in York.
Date: Sunday, July 15, 2007
Time: 3:30 pm
Place : The open glen near the playground. Park in the first parking lot on the left after entering the park (same as last gathering).



I will be providing water and hoops of various sizes and weights to borrow.
Feel free to post any questions to the blog.

If it happens to be actively raining, hailing, or snowing, I will reschedule the gathering for a later date.

Start practicing now!
Browse the blog for tutorials or visit some of the links for some inspiration, then pump up the tunes and get hooping!! See you Sunday!!

Hoop Tricks with Natasha--Pop-up tutorial

Natasha's awesome living room tutorials will let you strut your hooping stuff at the next gathering!

Hoop Tricks with Natasha-Vertical Step Through

Natasha has a slew of concise hooping tutorials on Youtube. This should get you hooping!

Here's Some Skills!

I just really LOVED this video--and Siouxsie and the Banshees rock!!

Hooping Sites of Note

To help you get into the world of hooping, here are some great sites that you might want to visit. These sites also have links to dozens of other hooping sites. Ya'll don't forget to come back to the Mad Hoopers, ya hear!

Hooping. Org Magazine is a great resource for all things hooping. It's a wellspring of informative articles and other links to get you started hooping.

The famous, unrivaled site for hoop making--simple, well photographed, step-by-step; my hoop making bible.

Another great hoop-making site, with some terrifically innovative ideas to light up you hooping life!

Jessie's site is for new and experienced hoopers alike...tons of instructional videos, links for hula hoop making how-to, and much more.

If you're kicking around Vancouver, BC, check out Christa's site first! In addition to classes in Canada, Christahoops covers history, sells hoops and has some kickass clips for those of us not within driving distance, just to give us a taste of what we're missing. She makes it look so easy!

Meet some really cool hoopers based out of Sydney, Australia! Never been there myself, but if they're hooping there, I'm booking a ticket, soon!

Brush up on your hooping history at this site.

First Hoop Gathering Of Mad Hoopers of York--THE VIDEO!

Mad Hoopers Of York come together in hooping harmony on this first ever Mad Hooper Video!

Watch that MAMA hoop!

This is a picture of my ma hooping it up last Saturday....if I can get my folks to do it, anyone should be willing to pick a hoop and give it a try. Visit the blog for dates and times of hoop gatherings. And let me know if you're interested in organizing your own!!

Too Much Hooping...




....is never enough

Hardcore Hooper and Double Hooping

Night Hooping

The first day that I was introduced to the hula hoop was not all that long ago. June 15, 2007, actually ...and since then, I have taken the hoop into my heart, and hope to spread the fire. I will be learning right along side all fellow hoopers.
Here's how it went: I visited my good friend Tracey in Northampton, MA, where, apparently there is a renaissance movement dedicated to the art of hooping, or hoop dancing. Tracey has three or four hoops, made by a local woman in one of the hoop groups, and I whirled a couple times in her back porch, banging into furniture and upsetting Tuffy the cat to no end. We moved our hoop party to town...there was a hoop happening, as it turned out in town that day. Several women, effortlessly twirled hoops through the air, around their waists, necks, arms and back down again. One willowy woman in black simultaneously spun two around her midsection so that she looked like the nucleus of an atom. I picked up a hoop hesitantly. I have my moments of coordination, but public displays rarely serve to bring them out. I received quite a bit of encouragement that day, to persevere; not 10 minutes had passed and I was doing tricks. Not great tricks, mind you, but more than the run of the mill around the hip stuff. These hoops made it possible! They were not the flimsy, light plastic hoops that I remember from a failed youth of hoop attempts. They were large, graceful, swooping about my middle with a gentle swish of water....I was hooked.
That night, we brought them to a party and hooped our hearts out. An added bonus that we discovered that night--it keeps the bugs away!

As inspiring as a proper renaissance should be, the hooping in Northampton moved me to bring hooping here to York, PA.

First Hoop Gathering Of Mad Hoopers of York

What a crazy day!! At 3:15 this past Saturday at John Rudy Park in York, PA, the grassy glen was inundated by hoopers of all ages, all shapes and sizes! Hoops were provided by me, Lala the Maddest Hooper of them all (and I have the bruises to prove it, related to a couple of lost battles with the hoop...). Passers by were encouraged to stop and hoop, and a few of the brave accepted the challenge, with outstanding results!

For those who believe they could never hoop, please, allow me to dispel the myth. Case in point: while the folks in question may not be pleased at my revealing their ages, I will do so in the name of promoting the joy that is HOOPING!! My very own ma and pa, ages 61 and 66, respectively, took up the hoops, brave souls that they are, and did a fantastic job!!
Kudos to Yuma, my three year old nephew,
who gave it his all, and Makiko, (both pictured below,) who managed to keep up with him!



Hooping is truly for everyone, great exercise and a promoter of tremendous happiness! Has anyone ever seen a person hooping and FROWNING!?? I think not!

I will be arranging and promoting hooping gatherings in York county in the coming weeks, so keep an eye peeled for future blog posts. If you want me to email you with dates and times as they come up, contact me at elanadavis@gmail.com, and I will add you to my Mad Hoopers.
list.
I provide hoops to borrow at the gatherings, you can buy/order one from me, or make your own.